The Golden Necklace
by Pottalova
Summary: James, Lily, Sirius and Alice future Alice Longbottom are all sent forward in time to 1998 and Harry & Ginny must try to protect them from information about their futures that could change everything. Re-written Post DH.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm re-writing this story because I got really frustrated with the fact that I couldn't use Deathly Hallows stuff because I wrote this before it came out and all my information was incorrect. :-( So here it is. The first chapter is the same but the rest will be completely different.

**Breakups and Quidditch matches**

_Why? Why? Why?_ Lily found herself wondering over and over. _Why?_

She had always known, deep down, that she and her longtime off and on boyfriend Frank Longbottom weren't "meant to be," but they had such fun together and got along so well.

This had to be the 5th breakup this school year (and that's saying something in October), and she knew that once again in a few days, they would realize their mistake of breaking up, get back together, and spend the next 24-hours snogging in Lily's dorm; where Lily's disgusted best-friend and room-mate Alice would storm in to tell them that there where other people in the room and that "it is really tasteless to go snogging people in public places." Frank would then smartly retort something along the lines of "Well, you see, that's why we're in _Lily's_ dormitory, not mine, because with all you cheap gits prancing through to see Sirius, it's really gotten much too public for this type of activity. Why don't you go see dear Sirius now? Or is it Ellie's night tonight?"

Normally, Lily would have slapped Frank for calling her two best friends sluts, but by that point, her hands were way too busy to do something foolish like that and ruin the moment.

Contrary to popular belief, however, and much to Frank's displeasure, Lily always stopped him right before he crossed the line. Thinking back, she didn't really know what the line was, but was glad that she didn't succumb to him and had saved herself right when she did. That was probly the reason this kept on happening.

The problem was she didn't really want to go through that all again, as it had happened time and time again for the last five years. There was just too much pain involved. First she had to stop him from driving her to the place where her core was screaming to let him take her. Then, there was the wall that Alice put up every time Lily was involved with Frank, which could last anywhere form a day to 3 weeks. After he did break up with her again, she would put herself through this battle in her mind for what was worth more; those magical kisses that could make her worries go away and make her melt like a popsicle.

Thinking about it, she dropped exhaustedly onto her bed, trying to free her mind and sleep, though she knew that it was impossible at 3:30 pm.

**"**HA!" yelled a victorious Chaser in red and gold robes as he made another goal. Now if only that lazy, good-for nothing Seeker would find the stupid snitch, he could figure out what the mysterious gold necklace he found in one of Hogwarts' hidden passageways. _Not that it matters,_ He thought jubilantly, _I've already scored enough points so that we'll win even if that Slytherin slime-ball finds it first! _"Hey Padfoot, why don't you aim one of those bludgers towards Frank over there and take him out of his misery?"

"Just a minute, Prongs, gotta wait for the right moment," replied his friend from behind him, "Can't make it too direct or he might start to suspect that it was planned."

BOOM!

A bludger bounced off some Slytherin's scull and hit Longbottom square in the chest.

"What was that about the right moment?"

"I got too anxious"

But Prongs hadn't heard his friend's last comment, he had seen the snitch, and with no seeker, he was now free to go after it himself. He shot down into a dive, swooping up with the snitch a fraction of a second before hitting the ground.

After a few victory laps around the stands, smiling and waving importantly to his adoring fans, he swooped down gracefully, gliding into the Gryffindor locker rooms to meet his patiently awaiting friends.

"That was some dive, Prongs"

"That was some hit, Padfoot"

"Great Hall?"

"Don't mind if I do"

Later that night, Padfoot and Prongs where sitting huddled by the fire in the empty common room, looking at a large golden necklace with an odd sort of large charm dangling from it.

A red eyed Lily Evans emerged from her dormitory with her friend Alice by her side, comforting her and trying to keep the sheer joy she was feeling off of her face. After a quick look down at the common room, Lily abruptly stopped them both, then quietly sneaking up behind the boys.

When they where inches behind the boys, a sharp intake of breath from Lily revealed them. Padfoot and Prongs both reached for the necklace at once, trying to hide it in their robes at the same time, and if anything, it just made the object more visible.

"_WHAT are you two doing with a TIMETURNER?"_

"We where just—"

"You see, we where trying to—"

_"Do you have ANY idea how DANGEROUS those are?" _Lily was now fuming at their ignorance, "Come with me, we're going to see Professor Dumbledore!"

"Hold on!"

"No! Wait!"

"Just a little while longer!"

"We just want to see what it does!" the boys retorted angrily.

"You want to know what it does? Fine! But as Head Girl, it is my duty to report any illegal objects or objects that should not be in the possession of students, and unlike _some_," she added, glaring at James, "I…er…follow through on my duties!" With that, she sat down across from them gently, motioning for Alice to do the same. "Timeturners can take you back in time, but they are extremely dangerous. You absolutely can NOT be seen. Many witches and wizards have died when they went back in time, killing either their past or future selves. I don't know too much about it, just little bits from what I've read, but I wouldn't recommend it, too many risks involved."

"So, say I went back in time," stated James, absent mindedly tapping the charm with his wand repeatedly, before quickly adding toward Lily, who was now glaring at him, "Just as an example, there would be two of me to attack Snape with?" He asked in awe, high fiving his friend next to him.

"Yes, but like I said, you can't be seen, and from what I understand, It's very difficult to plan an attack with someone when you can't let them see you, or see them, or let the person you're attacking see you, not to mention everyone else that would be around them."

"So what would you have to do?" Asked James, now with all his attention focused on the gaudy old fashioned necklace.

"You WOULD spin that charm there, IF you where going to go back in time, which you are NOT going to do," said Lily authoritatively, "Now let's go before you two get any crazy ideas."

"Hold on a sec, Lils, we're not giving up that easy, this has definite possibilities." Sirius said, speaking up for the first time and grabbing the timeturner so that both he and James where now holding the timeturer and giving it a good quick few spins.

**_"NOOOOOOO!"_** Exclaimed both Alice and Lily at the same time, quickly reaching for the timeturner and touching it just as they all felt a particurly hard jerking around their stomach, followed by everything around them spinning so quickly all they could see was bright colors pass in front of their eyes, then becoming overwhelmingly dizzy and passing out. Only Lily was able to stay conscious long enough to recognize that they where still in the common room, at the same place they left. _Good, _Lily thought, _we haven't gone anywhere, must've been a faulty timeturner, no doubt one those two tried to forge themselves, HA!_ Not wasting anytime, just before she passed out, she muttered a quick incantation under her breath, reviving her best friend, the only one she knew would take care of her, before she collapsed on the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Alice woke up just in time to save her friend's head from smashing on a table as she fell to the floor, but was unable to save the strange necklace, which smashed on the floor beside her. Laying her on a cushion, she turned to Sirius and revived him before turning back to Lily to revive her. She then left the revival of James to Lily, because she was preoccupied stroking Sirius' long, dark hair.

Lily just rolled her eyes as she pointed her wand at James, waking him up, then took his hand and dragged him to a standing position. "Come on," She directed, "I'm reporting this to Professor McGonagall."

"McGonagall? Really, Lil?" James asked, rolling his eyes at her predictability.

"These things are very dangerous. We're just lucky nothing happened this time." She told him resolutely. "If you don't come with me, you know she'll just come and get you."

Dragging their feet, James and Sirius followed Lily and Alice down the corridor to what they thought was Professor McGonagall's office.

"Professor McGonagall? Professor McGonagall!" Lily called as she pounded on the door to the Professor's office, "I caught James Potter and Sirius Black in possession of a time-turner! Professor? Professor!"

On the other side of the door, the new Head of Gryffindor house had frozen with his hand on the door handle when he heard someone calling for his predecessor. Listening closely, the names 'James Potter' and 'Sirius Black' were barely recognizable, but he must be hearing things. Who would be coming to his office in the middle of the night looking for Professor McGonagall and talking about James Potter and Sirius Black?

Nevertheless, he took a corner of his invisibility cloak from it's current inhabitant and surrounded himself with it, opening the door just in time to see a red haired girl pointing her wand at two other students about her age as she forced them forward, saying something about 'Dumbledore's office'. A second girl trailed behind the first quietly.

When they got to Dumbledore's office, the Lily said confidently, "Acid pops." When nothing happened, she turned, confused, to Alice. "But I don't understand, I was just here earlier this afternoon!" She heard someone nearby mumble something under their breath and suddenly, the gargoyle sprang to life, revealing a long spiral staircase. Assuming it was James, she just poked his back with her wand to force him up the stairs.

When she, Alice, James, and Sirius burst through the doors into the study that was only too familiar because of James and Sirius' many mishaps with the rules, it wasn't Dumbledore she found behind the desk, but Professor McGonagall. "Oh, I'm sorry, Professor, we were just looking for Professor Dumbledore." Lily said, surprised.

"_Lily_?" Professor McGonagall asked, clearly taken aback, "Is that you?"

Lily shared a look with James that clearly said 'Is she mad?'

"Professor?" James asked, taking a step closer to her desk, "Professor, are you feeling alright?"

"Oh, dear me." Professor McGonagall exhaled, putting her hand on her heart, "James, you're here as well." She looked beyond him at the other students, "along with Sirius and—Alice? Alice, who is the current captain of the Chudley Cannons?"

Alice swooned, "Peter McDonald."

"Oh, my." Suddenly, McGonagall pinched herself, hard, on the hand and jumped slightly.

"Professor?" Lily inquired, stepping forward with James.

"Just give me a moment." She demanded as she gripped the sides of her chair and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. After a few seconds, she relaxed and opened her eyes, exhaling. "Alright, Miss Evans. What can I do for you?"

"Well, professor, I was in the common room, and I caught James with a time-turner!" She exclaimed, holding it up in the air triumphantly.

"Ah." Professor McGonagall said, getting up to examine it closer, "If I'm not very much mistaken, Professor Dumbledore misplaced a time-turner very similar to this one a little over twenty years ago, but this one is broken."

"Yes, it must have broken when we all fainted." Lily replied, a bit confused, "It's Professor Dumbledore's?"

"I believe so, Miss Evans. Unfortunately, you won't be able to return it to him at this time, because Professor Dumbledore has passed away."

"Dumbledore's dead?" Sirius asked.

"What?" Alice and Lily questioned at the same time.

"But Dumbledore can't be dead, he's ancient! He's been around forever!" James exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore was murdered about a year ago atop the astronomy tower."

"A year ago?" Lily asked, "But that's impossible. I just saw him earlier this afternoon!"

"Ah, but Miss Evans, it's 1998. You haven't seen Professor Dumbledore in twenty two years."

Alice fainted, falling onto Harry, who jumped back, pulling the cloak a bit too quickly, which was noticed only by Sirius, who whipped his wand out in an instant and trained it on the spot directly above the bit of leg he had seen.

"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said suddenly, and James looked up, "Please don't leave until you're dismissed."

"Alright, Professor, but I wasn't—" he began, but she cut him off.

"I know, Mr. Potter, it's quite alright. Mr. Black, please revive Miss McCarthy."

"I swear, this job makes completely normal Professors go completely batty." James whispered to Lily, who nodded.

"Now, since I believe it's pretty obvious you can't use this," Professor McGonagall indicated towards the clearly destroyed time-turner in Lily's hand, "to return home, I suppose you have no choice but to remain in this time until we find a way to return you. There are a few things you need to be informed of before I allow you to leave this room, and I also must ask you not to seek information about your future selves while you are here. If you do, the results may be more disastrous than you could possibly imagine." They nodded gravely, so she felt it safe to continue.

"You are all aware of Lord Voldemort, I presume?"

Lily and James nodded, Sirius winced, and Alice exclaimed, "Don't say his name!"

"It's quite alright, Miss McCarthy, I assure you. Eighteen years ago, Voldemort was destroyed by a one-year-old boy. The boy's name was Harry Potter."

James gasped as every eye in the room turned to him. "My…"

"Yes, Mr. Potter, your son. Lord Voldemort tried to kill him, but the spell backfired and he was brought close to death, but not completely killed. A few of his closest followers lashed out at his opposition, but most of them were sent to Azkaban for their crimes and for a few years, the wizarding world was at peace. When Mr. Potter came to Hogwarts for his first year, Lord Voldemort used a teacher here to try to steal the Sorcerer's Stone and restore his body. Luckily, Mr. Potter and his friends were there to protect the stone and Voldemort was once again defeated.

"In his second year, Lord Voldemort used a diary to posses a young girl and open the Chamber of Secrets, a secret passage in the pipes of the school that contained a deadly monster, which he was using to attack the muggle-born students in the school and try to get to Mr. Potter. Towards the end of the year, he took the girl hostage and was draining her strength in an attempt to regain his own. Mr. Potter followed her into the chamber, pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the sorting hat, and defeated both the basilisk beneath the school and the diary. Are you seeing a pattern here?"

James swelled with pride in the son he hadn't even met yet, and Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course. James' son saves the day and gets all the glory. What else is new?" she muttered under her breath.

McGonagall just grinned at Lily's comment, and then continued as if she hadn't heard. "In his fourth year—"

"What, no unbelievable, life-saving feat in his third year?" Sirius asked.

"Absolutely." She replied, "But that is one that I must not tell you about. You're way to involved. Anyway, in Mr. Potter's fourth year, he was entered into the Tri Wizard tournament and, of course, won, but the cup had been turned into a port-key, so the second he touched it, he was taken to a grave yard, where…" She hesitated, "one of Lord Voldemort's followers was preparing to resurrect him using his own flesh and Harry's blood. He succeeded, but Harry still managed to get out alive.

"The following year, Lord Voldemort was able to lure Mr. Potter to the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries using someone he loved, where he hoped Harry would get the prophecy about the two of them so that one of his Death Eaters could recover it and he would be able to hear it in it's entirety. The Order of the Phoenix arrived just in time however, to assist Mr. Potter's friends in fighting off the Death Eaters while Dumbledore was able to duel Voldemort himself to keep him away from Harry.

"A year later, Harry and Dumbledore discovered that Voldemort had created horcruxes to ensure that he would never die and they set out to destroy them before Harry faced Voldemort once and for all. When they got back from their attempt to find the third one—for they had each previously found and destroyed one, Harry's had been the diary—Dumbledore sent Harry below the top deck of the tower and ordered him to stay hidden and quiet. Almost as soon as Harry was out of sight, Dumbledore was ambushed by Death Eaters, and Severus Snape killed him once and for all."

"Snape!?" James and Sirius growled in unison.

"No! Sev!" Lily cried, deeply hurt.

"We discovered only too late that Severus had actually been acting on Dumbledore's orders. Dumbledore was dying, you see, but he knew that a student here had been sent to kill him. In an attempt to save the boy's soul, he asked Severus to deal the final blow, cementing Severus' cover as a death eater so that he could do whatever possible to save Mr. Potter from the inside.

"Last year, times were pretty dark. The Ministry—and, subsequently, Hogwarts—had fallen, and Harry was nowhere to be found. We learned later that he was searching for—and destroying horcruxes. Towards the end of the year, Mr. Potter returned to destroy the final three horcruxes. The Battle of Hogwarts ensued and Lord Voldemort was killed, once and for all."

"And Harry?" Lily asked nervously.

Professor McGonagall smiled more warmly at her than she thought possible for the old woman, "Mr. Potter survived the battle and his fight with Voldemort because of his mother's love, but that's all I can tell you."

Lily smiled to herself, satisfied.


	3. Chapter 3

Once their excitement had died down, McGonagall began her instructions. "You'll all obviously be sleeping in the Gryffindor dormitories, but I would appreciate it if you wait outside my office for a guide. It would be a bit suspicious if you suddenly showed up in the Gryffindor common room, wouldn't it? You should also think of new last names. In the future, too many of you are far to well known to use your own names while you stay in this time. I'll give you your school schedules tomorrow morning at breakfast, so make sure you arrive on time. That will be all, thank you."

Lily led James and Alice down the stairs, but Sirius hesitated in the room. "Professor, there's someone over there." He stated, pointing to the corner where he had seen something earlier.

"Thank you, Mr. Black, but I am aware. Harry?" She inquired, indicating that it was all right for him to reveal himself. Instantly, Harry's head became visible and he slowly stepped out of the rest of the cloak.

Sirius grinned, "Yup, that's James' son, all right. Nice work, Harry."

"Er—thanks." He replied awkwardly.

"Mr. Black, if you would excuse us…" McGonagall hinted, indicating to the door.

"Right, sorry." Sirius mumbled, stepping out the door. "Thanks, professor."

"Harry," She said as soon as they were gone, "I can't impress upon you enough how important it is that each of them remain ignorant of their respective current conditions. Also, the less they know about their friends, the better. I told them what I felt they needed to know in order to function as normal witches and wizards today, but they can't find out anything else, is that understood?"

"Of course, Minerva, I understand. If anything happens to them, I might not exist. And then, Voldemort. And, Tonks, and Lupin, and Fred…" Harry felt an invisible hand surrounded by silky fabric stroke his arm.

"Harry, you know you are not responsible for their deaths. That was Lord Voldemort's doing. Without you, many more would be dead." Minerva stated flatly.

"I know, I know," He sighed.

"Good." She nodded, looking back down at her work. Harry headed for the door and, without looking up, Minerva asked, "Miss Weasley? You wouldn't mind escorting Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Miss Evans, and Miss McCarthy back to the dormitories, would you? I think it's about time you head back to the common room."

Harry blushed, and after a second, Ginny answered from beneath the cloak, "Of course not, Professor."

"Thank you, Miss Weasley. Good night."

"Who are you and where did you come from?" James asked flirtingly when he saw Ginny coming down the stairs from McGonagall's office.

"Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley, your son's girlfriend," she said, extending her hand to him in a clear shutdown, "Nice to meet you."

"Hello, Ginny," Lily introduced herself, still grinning ear to ear from her response to James' question, "I'm Lily Breen."

"Lily Breen?" James asked incredulously.

"It's a family name," She hissed back at him.

"It's all right, I know who all of you really are." Ginny interrupted their little squabble, "That's probably why McGonagall wants me to show you around school. But, come on, let's get going, I think I ought to stop by the new Head of Gryffindor house's office to let him know what's going on."

"Do we know him?" Sirius inquired.

"You might." She said mischievously, "He is a bit famous."

When they arrived at his office, Ginny knocked loudly on the large oak door and suddenly, it seemed to open of its own accord. "Just wait here, I'll be out in a second." Ginny ordered, stepping through the open door. As soon as it shut behind her, Harry ripped off the invisibility cloak.

"Can you believe it, Ginny? My parents!"

"Harry, you've got to be careful." Ginny warned, "You heard what Professor McGonagall said…"

"I know, I know." Harry nodded, too excited to really register the information.

"And you saw your parents together, they're not even close to getting together. Your mother will have no idea that you're really her son." Ginny gently rubbed her hands up and down his arms, trying to calm him, "And you can't tell her."

"I know…" Harry hesitated, calming slightly, "But she's _here_, Ginny. I'll get to meet her, to—"

"Teach her?" Ginny reminded him, "You're just her teacher, remember? For your mother, Sirius, Alice, and your father."

"Well," Harry took another step closer to her, kissing on the lips, "I'm 'just' your teacher too, remember?"

After a minute or so, Ginny stepped back, remembering where he was. "They're going to be wondering where I am…"

Harry groaned, but gave her a quick kiss good night and watched her wipe her lips before opening the door again.

"Not bad," Lily mused, looking over her schedule at breakfast.

"I just can't believe Sluggy is still teaching here." James sniggered, "I thought he was getting ready to retire twenty years ago."

"He did." Ginny explained, looking over their schedules, "Harry and Dumbledore convinced him to come back a couple years ago. He took Snape's job when he switched to Defense against the Dark Arts." There was a bit of awkward silence at the mention of Severus Snape's name, the feelings among those at the table mixed on the subject. "It's okay," Ginny said suddenly, looking up, "I mean, he was an awful git when he was alive, but at the end, he was a hero. He really came through and was able to give Harry the information he needed to take down Voldemort on his deathbed. That's got to count for something."

"For Defense Against the Dark Arts, it says we have Potter. That's not future me, is it?" James asked suddenly.

"Of course not," Ginny shook her head, "Do you think McGonagall would put you in a class taught by yourself? Harry teaches that class."

James, Sirius, Lily, and Alice leaned forward, clearly interested. "Is he any good?" Sirius asked.

"Best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor we've had since Lupin." Ginny stated proudly.

"Lupin? Remus Lupin taught Defense Against the Dark Arts?" James exploded with laughter.

"Yes, but he resigned when people found about his condition." Ginny frowned, remembering.

"How is old Moony these days?" Sirius asked, grinning about his old friend.

"You know I can't tell you that, Sirius." Ginny said, still frowning.

"Fine, but just answer this." James tussled his hair as he thought of how best to phrase the question, "Was Moony ever able to move past his… condition… and start a family?"

"What is this condition you're all talking about?" Lily interrupted, "What was he, a vampire or something?"

Ginny grinned slightly, ignoring Lily completely. "Teddy Lupin is almost a year old. That's all I'm going to say."

"Not talking about my godson, are you?" Harry asked, coming up behind her as he lightly rested his hand on her shoulder. Tenderly, she reached up to touch his hand for a second, then they both let their hands drop simultaneously. Everyone knew about their relationship, but it was something they thought in best taste to keep relatively quiet until she finished school.

"Just a little. They wanted to know about Remus and I though that was the safest thing I could tell them." Ginny smiled up at him. He nodded, agreeing. "James, Lily, Sirius, and Alice," Ginny said, turning to them, "I'd like to introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, _Professor_ Harry Potter."

"It's so nice to meet you, Professor Potter." Lily smiled at him.

"We've heard so much about you, Professor." Alice unconsciously leaned towards him in her seat.

"Trust me." Harry beamed down at them, "You have no idea what a pleasure it is to meet each of you again." Turning to Ginny, he said pointedly, "I sent an owl to Neville. He should be coming later this week to check out that_ book_ we were talking about yesterday…"

"Good." She responded, "I think he'll really enjoy it."

"My thoughts exactly." Harry looked around the Great Hall to see most of the students nearby watching them. "I'd better go. People are starting to stare again." Ginny smoothly put her arm on the other side of the bench and Harry touched her hand lightly before walking away from the table.

"He is gorgeous!" Lily exclaimed when he turned away.

"Yes, he is," Alice murmured dreamily, raising an eyebrow as she watched him from behind as he walked towards the faculty table.

"And he's _mine_." Ginny said pointedly to Alice, who was still staring at him. Her eyes lingered for a second longer, then she turned back to the table.

"Are you all right, James?" Lily asked, looking concerned. Across the table from her, James had gone completely white and was staring at the spot where Harry had been.

Suddenly, he turned to her, looking straight into her eyes. "Hmm?" he mumbled, and then said hoarsely, picking up his goblet, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"He looks nothing like you, anyway. He must get his good looks from his mother." Lily said to James.

"Thanks," He wheezed between gulps of pumpkin juice.

"I already have a boyfriend anyway." Lily smiled into her soup.

"Do you?" Ginny asked, perking up.

"Well, not technically at the moment, we're sort of on a break, but I'm sure he'll come around when I get back." Lily replied, "Maybe you've heard of him, Frank Longbottom?"

Ginny's eyes widened, "_You're_ dating _Frank Longbottom_?"

"I think he's a prat, personally." Alice piped in. "Thinks he's better than everyone else, when I'd like to see him give a bat-boggy jinx half as good as mine."

"Well, it's better than that_ dog_." Lily said, glaring at Sirius. Ginny snorted and Sirius' head snapped up to look at her, but she just grinned back at him, revealing nothing.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is my favorite chapter... enjoy :-D Thank you so much to all my reviewers!!!

"Professor, can I talk to you?" Ginny asked at the beginning of her potions class. "It's important."

"Of course, Miss Weasley, you know I'm always available to speak to you." Professor Slughorn winked at her, but she ignored him and continued.

"Well, you see, sir, there's been a bit of a mix-up with a time-turner." Ginny hesitated, so Professor Slughorn interrupted her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Weasley, but time-turners really are not my area of expertise. You'd be better off speaking to Professor McGonagall about the matter." He said shortly.

"Well, you see, Professor," She proceeded slowly, "The students who used the time-turner to come to this time have already spoken to Professor McGonagall, but their time-turner is broken, so they can't be sent back until it's mended. In the meantime, they're going to be attending classes under false names, but we were sure that if anyone would recognize them, you would, so we'd better tell you, but you can not tell them anything about their futures, or the results could be disastrous."

Recognition dawned across his face as Lily, James, Sirius, and Alice walked in. "What's the matter, Professor?" Lily questioned, smiling, "You look like you've just seen a ghost!"

James paled again at Lily's words and Slughorn laughed uncomfortably, muttering, "Yes, well, it has been a while, Miss Evans."

"Miss Breen, now, professor." She corrected him, then indicated to Alice, James, and Sirius respectively, "And that is Miss Thomas, Mr. Prongs, and Mr. Padfoot."

"I see." He nodded, the traces of a forced grin still on his face. "Well perhaps we should return to the classroom and begin the lesson."

Later that day, they arrived at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Lily and Alice were both giddy with anticipation.

"Leave your books outside the door," Ginny advised, "you never know what could happen to them on the other side." Eagerly, James, Sirius, Alice, and Lily dropped their books and entered the classroom. Inside, the room was almost completely empty and covered in mirrors. A few dummies stood, hunched over, in one corner.

There were no desks, no chalkboards, no books, just a young professor standing in the middle of the room, wand out. "Rictucempra!" Harry exclaimed, suddenly, red jets of light streaming from his wand.

"Protego!" Ginny said calmly, putting up a barrier in front of James, whom the curse was directed at.

"Oi!" James yelled, "What was that for?"

"Ginny!" Harry complained, "You know you're not supposed to protect people. They have to learn to be prepared! Ten points from Gryffindor!" A few people groaned.

"But, _Professor_," Ginny contested, "They had no idea that you curse people randomly throughout the lesson. None of them even had their wands out."

"That's the point, _Miss Weasley_. They need to learn to be prepared for anything."

"Harry," She said quietly, taking a step closer so only he could hear her, "you can't change the past. You can't just curse them a couple times and hope that it will teach your dad not to leave his wand lying around the house. Even if he had his wand in his hand that day, the chances of him surviving against Lord Voldemort are very slim, you must know that."

"Miss Weasley." He repeated, "They need to learn to be prepared for anything. They are my students. I teach my students constant vigilance. They will learn to be prepared for anything, as you have. Five points to Gryffindor for Miss Weasley's quick defensive maneuvering to protect her friends." He winked at her, but she just rolled her eyes, grinning. "Now," He turned to face the rest of the class, "As you may have noticed, we have a few new students this week. Who would like to demonstrate to Miss Breen, Miss Thompson, Mr. Padfoot, and Mr. Prongs a few of the spells we've covered so far this year in a duel?" Almost the entire class volunteered. "Expelliamous!" He yelled suddenly.

"Protego!" Luna Lovegood flicked her wand absently from the side of the crowd, blocking Harry's spell with ease. Within seconds, her shield was gone and Harry was pulled into the air by his ankle and suspended above the class.

"Very nice, Miss Lovegood! You even managed to catch me off guard! Ten points to Ravenclaw!" Luna smiled to herself for a few seconds until Harry finally said as his face darkened in color to a deep purple, "Um, Luna, would you mind letting me down?"

"Oh! Right, sorry, Harry." Luna blushed faintly as she waved her wand and guided Harry gracefully to the floor, landing him on his feet.

"Alright, Miss Lovegood and Mr. Cooper, if you'll proceed to the front of the room." Harry directed. Obediently, Clive Cooper and Luna went to opposite sides of the front of the room.

For a few minutes, colors exploded out of their wands and flew back and forth between the two opponents, until suddenly, Luna yelled, "Petrificus Totalis!" Harry heard the beginning of a defensive spell from Clive before he went completely stiff and fell forward.

"Nice work, Miss Lovegood! Five more points to Ravenclaw!" Harry turned to Lily, James, Sirius, and Alice, who were still awestruck at duel that had just occurred, "Normally, I discourage my students from petrifying each other or doing anything else that would require special herbs or Madame Pomphry's services while we're just practicing, but that was a good duel and Miss Lovegood performed beautifully, so I'm going to let it go." Ginny returned and poured the potion down Collin's throat. "Who can identify a few of the curses or defensive maneuvers in that duel? Yes, Miss Gates?"

"Clive nearly landed an impediment jinx a couple of times." The Ravenclaw girl said.

"And Luna almost had a couple of good stunning spells." Another Gryffindor supplied.

"I tried 'Expelliamous' a few times, but he kept blocking me." Luna said dreamily, pushing back the hair from her face.

"A very wise wizard once warned me 'Expelliamous' was becoming my signature spell and advised me against making it my trademark." Harry told the class solemnly, "But I disagree. Why kill or maim your opponent, when just as easily you can disarm them so that they're no further threat to you?" The class seemed to hang on every word, "Who's next? Perfect. Miss Weasley, would you mind dueling Miss Breen?"

Lily looked up to see her hand in the air and realized that she had been called on. "But, Professor," the Ravenclaw he had called on earlier looked alarmed, "Ginny is the best dueler in our year!"

"No I'm not." Ginny responded automatically.

"Expelliamous!" Harry aimed a disarming spell at Lily, which she parried instinctively. "See? I'm sure she'll be able to hold her own against Miss Weasley for at least a minute or two. Miss Weasley, Miss Breen, please proceed to the front of the room." Harry said pointedly. Lily looked terrified. "Whenever you're ready, you may begin."

For a second, they were both motionless. In an instant, Lily flicked her wand, but before she had a chance to utter an incantation, Ginny screamed, "Expelliamous!" Lily flew across the room, breaking one of the mirrors behind her. "That was really cruel, do you know that, Harry?" He didn't answer, however, he just looked up at her, a smile playing on the corners of his lips.

"Corinsythia!" Lily exclaimed, throwing Ginny into the air. For a moment, she hovered in the air, unable to move, spinning in a slow circle as if on some kind of turntable. Then, with a crash, she fell to the floor.

Furiously wiping blood from her nose, she yelled, "Incarcerous!" but Lily was too quick.

"Protego!" A huge shield was erected between them and they began to circle each other, looking like lioness stalking their prey. Suddenly, the shield was down and it was like a lightning storm between them. Spells seemed to be flying everywhere, but they were so well aimed that Harry really only had to parry a few stray spells.

"Protego!" This time, it was Harry that put up the shield between them. "That's enough, ladies. Very nice work." Lily leapt down to join her astonished classmates as Ginny walked towards Harry, holding her nose. "Alright, Mr. Glisson, Miss Bernstein, go ahead." They proceeded to the front of the room.

"She's going to annihilate him, you know that, right?" Ginny asked him, grinning as he took her to his office.

"I know," He grinned back at her, "But he needs to be beaten every once in a while to keep his ego in check." They hesitated at the doorway for a moment as they waited for the duelers to take their positions. "Miss Breen, you're the referee while I repair Miss Weasley's nose. Begin whenever you're ready."

When they were through the door, Harry muttered "Episkey" to repair her nose, then got a clean cloth from a large cabinet and dabbed her nose with it. "She's good." Ginny told him reluctantly. "I underestimated her. It doesn't happen often, but I did. She's really good."

"It was an unbelievable duel." Harry smiled down at her. "You were brilliant."

"Thanks." She looked down, trying to hide her smile, but it was a bit difficult since Harry was holding a bloody cloth under her nose.

"Are you ready to go back?" He asked, kissing her on the forehead. She nodded, but before letting her through the door, he presented her with a plan, "You stop the duel, I'll attack someone. Deal?"

She just laughed, but nodded eventually, agreeing to help.

"Protego!" She said, bursting through the door as Harry simultaneously knocked Sirius on his back with little more than a flick of his wand.


	5. Chapter 5

"He was brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed as they left their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

"Yeah." James smiled, remembering his son bursting through the door and disarming Sirius.

"He must get it from his mother." Lily stated flatly, watching James arrogantly flourishing his wand as his son did.

"Ouch!" James exclaimed, following her down the hall.

"I think he's a little intense, personally." Sirius said, rubbing the back of his head, "I mean, jinxing unsuspecting students? I think we should report him to Professor McGonagall."

"If you report my son, I'm going to jinx you back to nineteen seventy five." James paused for a minute, then said, "You know, that sounds a lot worse in nineteen ninety eight than it did in nineteen seventy six."

"McGonagall already knows anyway. As long as he's not turning students into ferrets, she's happy. But, to be honest, I'm not sure he'd be able to do that if he really wanted to." Ginny grinned to herself. "Transfiguration was never Harry's strong suit. He was decent at it, but… Neville!" She exclaimed suddenly as they turned a corner and saw him running by. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Harry sent an owl. He said it was urgent." He panted.

"Yeah," Ginny stepped aside, revealing Alice.

"Is that—" He stammered, but she just nodded, "But, _how_?"

"Everyone," Ginny announced, "this is Neville Longbottom."

"Longbottom?" Lily asked, stunned, "Frank's son?" Neville just nodded, still staring at Alice. "Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed, running towards him and embracing him.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Neville asked, coming out of his trance and breaking free from Lily.

"I'm Lily Evans." She said, taking a step back and looking up at him, "Aren't I your—"

"Oh, Lily Evans." He replied, smiling, "Right, aren't you Ha—" At the same instant, James snorted and Ginny kicked Neville in the shin. "Ouch!"

"Hello!" Alice exclaimed, holding out her hand to him, "I'm Alice. I'm not a big fan of your father's, but you seem like a decent guy."

"Thanks," He said, blushing. Slowly, Ginny dragged James, Sirius, and Lily away so that they could talk.

"But I don't understand," Lily whined once they were out of earshot. "I thought I was… I thought what Frank and I had was… Special!" A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Aww, Lils, don't cry!" James exclaimed, putting his arm around her instinctively, "There are other guys out there. You'll find someone. I promise."

"How can you be so sure?" Lily questioned, looking up at him with those wet, bright emerald eyes pleadingly.

"Trust me." James replied, "There's someone out there for you, and he'll be lucky to have you."

"Soo…" Sirius dragged out the word, trying to fill the silence now that Ginny had pulled him away from all his friends.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Ginny tried to explain, "I just felt like… I don't know… we should leave them alone for a minute."

"James and Lily? Really?" He asked, mildly surprised.

"Well, I can't tell you that, can I?" Ginny deflected, then the corridor filled with an awkward silence again. "I think they're almost done." Ginny looked back inconspicuously as they stood up from the wall he had been consoling her at, "Act normal."

"Okay, I'll try." Sirius said sarcastically, but when James and Lily caught up with them, he asked loudly, "So, James-y, what have you and Lily been up to?" and started mockingly whistling the melody of "James and Lily sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g"

"Oh, shut it," James ordered, smacking him in he arm to shut him up. Still, he couldn't help but grin.

Later, at dinner, Harry stopped once again at the place where Ginny was sitting with James, Sirius, Lily, Alice, and Neville. The minute he saw Harry, Sirius whipped out his wand and pointed it at Harry's head. "Relax, Sirius," Harry laughed, "I don't attack students outside the classroom. That wouldn't be fair, would it?"

"But it's all fine and good if you appear out of no where and jinx your unsuspecting students as long as you're _in the classroom_, sure." He muttered under his breath.

"Neville, I see you've met Alice." Harry smiled, ignoring Sirius.

"Yeah, thank you so much, Harry." Neville said enthusiastically, "It's been so great."

"Neville, you know you can't tell any of them anything about their futures, right?" Harry inquired urgently, hoping he hadn't already given away his mother's fate.

"Yeah, I figured," Neville muttered glumly. "If I told them, things probably wouldn't turn out the same, would they?"

"But that might not be a good thing, Neville." Harry reminded him.

"Yeah, I know." Neville seemed to getting more and more miserable when Harry talked about it, so he decided to change the subject.

"So, how did you like the lesson?" He asked the table.

"It was great."

"Unbelievable."

"Best lesson ever." James, Lily and Alice all gushed at the same time.

"It was okay." Sirius mumbled.

Harry chuckled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. And that was a great duel, Lily."

Lily blushed slightly, "Thank you, but it was really just luck. She nearly landed a ton of those jinxes."

Neville and Ginny grinned at each other, both of them realizing where Harry got his ridiculous amount humility from. "How are you feeling?" Harry asked Ginny, taking a step closer and strategically placing himself so that only Neville could see that he was stroking her back.

"I'm fine, thanks to that handy little spell of yours." She responded.

"Oh, that?" He asked, "That was Tonks. Remember, a couple years ago, when I came in late from the train with a bloody nose?" she nodded. "Well, Malfoy had petrified me and left me under my cloak, but Tonks came looking for me because she didn't see me get off the train. She had to fix my nose because Malfoy stomped on my face while I was petrified."

"Oh, my!" Lily exclaimed, but Harry just shrugged.

"I'd better get back to the faculty table."

"Bye," Ginny said softly, touching his hand lightly behind her back.

"It really was a great class." Alice told Neville. "He kept randomly cursing students to make sure we were paying attention. It was terrifying, but awesome at the same time."

"Yeah, Harry's a great teacher." Neville agreed. "He taught me how to disarm people a couple years ago."

"But, I thought you were in his year?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I was," Neville began, "But we had this completely dreadful Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher a few years ago who only wanted to teach 'theory', which was completely useless with Voldemort and all, so a few of us got together got together and formed a Defense club, where Harry taught us how to _really _fight."

"Wow." James was, at this point, listening to Neville's every word.

"Yeah. We ended up getting together the next few years just—" Neville began, but was cut off by Lily screaming,

"Harry! NOOO!"

They all looked up at the same instant to see Harry fall off his chair, foaming at the mouth and convulsing wildly.


	6. Chapter 6

"Accio Bezor!" Lily cried, praying Slughorn still kept it them in the same place. She was sprinting towards him, completely unaware of anything else that was going on in the Great Hall. The rock flew into her hand just as she reached him, and she shoved it in his mouth. "Come on, Harry," She pleaded, "Come on! Breathe!" For a few heart crushing seconds, it seemed like she had been too late and she stroked his hair, sobbing. She didn't know why, but seeing his body lying like that on the cold floor just seemed so _wrong_ to her. He couldn't be dead, he was… Harry.

The next morning when Harry woke up in the hospital wing, he was sure he had died. Everything seemed so bright, then he saw his mother holding his hand, sleeping at his bedside, his father stroking her hair gently. "Shhh!" His father hissed as he tried to sit up, "She's been here all night. I tried to tell her to go get some sleep, told her I'd stay, but…"

"Am I dead?" Harry asked.

"Of course not." His father scoffed, "You were poisoned last night at dinner, but Lily saved you. McGonagall reckons it was one of Voldemort's supporters trying to get back at you for killing their master."

"Yeah, that's happened a couple times already." Slowly, everything was starting to come back to Harry. "But, she doesn't…"

"I think she figured it out last night," James explained, "You know, you started convulsing and her maternal instincts kinda… kicked in."

"How long have you known?" Harry questioned his father.

"I knew the minute I saw you." He blushed and looked down into Lily's hair, "You've got her eyes."

Harry nodded and they sat in silence for a minute or two, until finally James piped up, "We're dead… in your time, aren't we?"

Harry hesitated, but then he nodded reluctantly. "How did you find out?"

"Well, there's the way you look at us. With so much…_ longing_. As if you haven't seen us in a long time. And then, when McGonagall told us what happened to you… when you were just a baby. I can't imagine either of us stepping aside and letting him get to you."

"She's the reason I'm alive, you know," Harry murmured, following his father's gaze down to his sleeping mother. "All those times I faced Voldemort. He couldn't touch me because her love protected me. Because she sacrificed herself…" Harry trailed off, unsure of what else he could say. They sat in silence, both watching her back gently rise an fall as she slept.

"You know," James told his son finally, wiping a tear from his cheek, "McGonagall didn't want us to find out about our future because she was afraid we would change it, but still, after all that I've learned, I don't think I would change a thing. I'm sure Lily would feel the same way."

"What?" Harry asked, "Why? You could save yourself! You might be able to change everything, if you just—"

But James held up his hand, silencing Harry before he said anything further, "No, don't even tell me. Look at you, Harry! Look at who you've become! You're the best teacher this school has ever seen; you've defeated the most powerful dark wizard in history, and just think of _your_ future. She's sleeping outside the door, by the way. She wanted to give us a chance to talk, but I think it's her turn now."

James kissed Lily on the top of her head, waking her. "Hmm?" She mumbled, stirring in her sleep.

"Come on, Lily, it's Ginny's turn," James stroked her arms, trying to wake her faster.

"Is Harry awake?" She asked, blinking open her eyes. When she saw him, she threw herself on him, giving him the biggest hug her thin frame could muster. "Oh, Harry, thank Heavens you're alright! I was so worried!"

"Come on, Lils, Ginny has been waiting outside all night. You'll have plenty of time in the future." James rubbed her back as he waited for her to loosen her grip on their son.

"Oh, that's right!" She said, jumping up from the bed, "Our future selves will probably be here any second to check on him!"

For a second, James looked as if he was debating whether or not to tell her, but then, he hit himself in the forehead and exclaimed, "Oh, right! I almost forgot!"

"Come on, James, we'd better get out of here." Lily took James' hand and pulled him behind her out of the hospital wing. "Bye, Harry!" She called behind her, "We love you!"

Harry sat for a while in stunned silence, then suddenly came to and called after them, "I love you too!" but it was too late—they were already out of earshot.

"Awe," Ginny smiled, stroking his hair and his face as he lay in the hospital bed and continued to gaze after his parents, "I'm glad you got to say goodbye."

"What do you mean?" He questioned, looking up at her.

"Well, McGonagall fixed the time-turner." Ginny explained, confused, "I thought they already told you."

"No!" Harry yelled, ripping back the sheets, "No! No! NOO!" When he stood up, all the blood rushed from his head and he was forced to sit down until he got a little less dizzy. As soon as he could, he stood back up and ran after them towards McGonagall's office.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, following after him, "Harry! You can't do this right now! You've just been poisoned!"

"I have to find them!" He insisted. When Ginny caught him, she put his arm around her shoulders, supporting him. "I have to stop them!"

"Harry, you can't—" Ginny began, but he looked at her so feebly, but with so much insistence, that she just helped him through the corridors to the Headmistress' office.

They ran up the spiral staircase and opened the door to her office just in time to see James, Sirius, Alice, and Lily disappear just in front of Professor McGonagall's desk. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Harry yelled, falling to the floor and pounding on the spot where his parents had been just seconds before. "NO! I just got you back!" Harry was sobbing now, "You can't leave me again! NO!"

"Harry! Harry!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. Ginny was about to kneel on the floor beside him, but McGonagall waved her away, kneeling on the floor herself. "Mr. Potter," she said, resting her hand on his back comfortingly, "Surely, you knew they couldn't stay forever."

"I know, Professor," Harry cried a little less violently, wiping his eyes, "But I just hoped…"

"What, Mr. Potter?" she inquired, "You just hoped that they could stay a little longer?" He nodded, calming significantly. "They would still have to leave eventually, and that would still be too soon for all of us. We had to send them back as soon as we could, or we would keep them here forever."

"I know," He said weakly, "It's just…"

"I know, Mr. Potter, I know." He leaned into her and she held him for a minute longer as he calmed down until she was finally able to pass him off to Ginny, who was ready to lead him down to his room. "Ginevra?" Professor McGonagall stopped her just before she started down the stairs.

"Yes, professor?" Ginny asked behind her back, unable to turn both of them around to hear what she had to say.

"Take good care of him." She told her.

"I will, Minerva." Ginny responded, helping Harry down the steps from her office. Minerva opened her mouth as if to say something, but decided against it and just watched them descend, arm-in-arm, from her office.

**A/N:** Sorry, guys... I didn't expect this to be the end, but i was writing it and it just wrapped up so nicely...

I will be posting a time travel fanfic with Remus and Teddy at some point in the semi-near future, but I'm moving to Japan tomorrow, so it'll be a while before I'm settled... I hope you enjoyed this one though :-D


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